Discovered the oldest comic strips of Northern Europe

Group of researchers discovered the Northern Europe’s oldest comic strips in the depths of a Russian forest. They made about five thousand years ago and show how hunted inhabitants of the steppe.

Before the experts of the Norwegian Tromso University Museum go to the Kanozero Lake, they knew that they will find hundreds cliff engravings there. First in 2005 found similar cliff engravings 5,300 metres from the Kanozero Lake. And thanks to the researches their numbers grew from 200 to 1,000 near the area in recent years. “In four places – in three islands and and on a stone block in the lake – found engravings, which are five and six thousand years.” – explains Jan Magne Gjerde, the leader of the group. In the engravings we can see people, deers, moose, bears and whale. They show whole episodes about huntings. One of engravings shows a bear hunting. We can see the hunter who wears a thing, which similar like a skis on his feet and he chases a bear. Then suddenly stopped on the slope, takes off his ‘skis’, then takes four strides and stabs the bear with his spear.

The researches say these are very time-consuming engravings and it needed large efforts. For example the whale engraving. This is more than a meter lenght and shape of the whole is worked out. This says a lot about how lived these people. Probably their society was rich if they could to make such quality and time-consuming  works.

“We don’t know still why they made engravings. Did they want to boast of it or it had religious significance. But one thing is sure they documented a part of their life and I’m lucky because I saw them first after five thousand year.” – says Gjerde.

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